Scintillation cameras are well known in the art of nuclear medicine, and are used for medical diagnostics. A patient ingests, inhales or is injected with a small quantity of a radioactive isotope. The radioactive isotope emits radiations that are detected by a scintillation medium in the scintillation camera. The scintillation medium is commonly a sodium iodide crystal, BGO or other. The scintillation medium emits a small flash or scintillation of light in response to stimulating radiation from a patient. The intensity of the scintillation light is proportional to the energy of the stimulating radiation, such as a gamma ray.
A conventional system for a scintillation camera such as a gamma camera includes a detector head, which detects gamma rays emitted from a patient and converts them into electrical signals and a processor for processing the signals output from the detector. The detector head includes a scintillator and an array of photomultiplier tubes. The gamma rays are directed to the scintillator, which absorbs the radiation and produces a very small flash of light. The array of photodetectors, which are placed in optical communication with the scintillation crystal, convert these flashes into electrical signals which are subsequently processed. The processor processes the signals output from the array to produce an image of the distribution of the radioisotope within the patient.
For obtaining desired images, improvement has been performed in this field. For example, a patient is placed on a flat bed, while a gamma camera(s) is rotated around a gantry and is further moved towards and away from the axis of rotation. Additional mechanical components may be added to angle the gamma camera.
While such systems have improved the quality of the images, complicated arrangements are required to position the detector head and the bed needs a full length of a human body to support a patient. That affects the size of the system. Additionally, a patient may feel uncomfortable since he or she must keep his/her posture straight. Further, it is difficult to obtain supine and prone imagines in systems that have limited rotation of 180° and operate one the principle of raising and lowering the detector on a vertical column.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a new system with compact size, and can easily position a patient with respect to a medical device, and can make the patient comfortable.